Nicolas Sarkozy | president of France | Britannica.com president of France Nicolas Sarkozy, (born January 28, 1955, Paris, France), French politician who served as president of France (2007–12). Nicolas Sarkozy, 2006. AP Sarkozy was born to immigrant Greek and Hungarian parents. He qualified as a lawyer (1981) and pursued advanced studies in political science at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris (1979–81). An ambitious and highly skilled politician, Sarkozy in 1983 was elected mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine , where he served until 2002. He first made his mark on the national scene in 1993 when he became budget minister and official spokesman in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Balladur . Balladur had been put forward by rightist politicians, including Jacques Chirac , to serve as prime minister under Socialist Pres. François Mitterrand , with the idea that someone—such as Chirac—would contest the 1995 presidential election.

Sarkozy, however, encouraged Balladur to run for president himself and thereby earned the lasting enmity of Chirac, to whom he had once been very close. Balladur lost to Chirac, and Sarkozy was shut out of the subsequent centre-right government of 1995–97. In 2002, after Chirac’s reelection as president was quickly followed by the election of another centre-right administration, Sarkozy returned to office as interior minister, a post he held for nearly two years until he became finance minister in March 2004. Soon after, however, Chirac asked him to choose between his government post and becoming president of the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, the neo-Gaullist successor party to the Rally for the Republic that Chirac had founded. Sarkozy chose the UMP job and quit the government in November 2004. In the wake of the May 2005 referendum in which French voters rejected the proposed European Union (EU) constitution, Chirac invited Sarkozy to return as interior minister in a new government to be headed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin .

In late 2005 Sarkozy had to contend with three weeks of rioting in the less-affluent suburbs of Paris and other cities. Although critics blamed him for inciting the car-burning protesters by calling them “scum,” his supporters approved of his hard-line stance on law and order as well as his call for tougher immigration laws. In 2007 Sarkozy ran for president of France. He finished first in the initial round of voting on April 22, winning 31 percent of the vote. In the runoff election on May 6, Sarkozy defeated Ségolène Royal of the Socialist Party , capturing 53 percent of the vote. Sarkozy was sworn in as president on May 16, 2007. He promised a “rupture” with France’s past, including radical economic reforms that would reduce taxes and liberalize the country’s labour market, and closer relations with the United States . Nicolas Sarkozy delivering a speech, May 2007. Thomas Coex—AFP/Getty Images Ringling Bros.

Folds Its Tent In the parliamentary elections of June 2007 Sarkozy’s UMP did less well than expected but still well enough to provide a comfortable majority for the new government of François Fillon, whom Sarkozy had appointed as prime minister just after assuming the presidency. In the subsequent cabinet reshuffle, Sarkozy made several surprising appointments, including the country’s first woman finance minister ( Christine Lagarde ), the first full cabinet member of North African origin (Rachida Dati), and a maverick Socialist (Bernard Kouchner) as foreign minister. Sarkozy also chose Socialists for several other key appointments. In the first few months of his presidency Sarkozy carried out some of his promised labour market and tax-cutting reforms. He decided not to scrap the 35-hour maximum on the standard workweek (a landmark Socialist law) but rather to use tax relief on overtime pay to moderate the law’s rigidity. Other new business-friendly laws restricted the right to strike and cut off unemployment payments to people who turned down certain job offers. Sarkozy also won narrow approval from the legislature for a constitutional change to limit the presidency to two five-year terms. Exploring Italy and France: Fact or Fiction?

While maintaining Europe as the prime focus of his foreign policy, Sarkozy was relatively pro-American compared with his predecessors. He showed signs of being more accommodating to the United States (especially with his active interest in a positive outcome in Iraq) and of being somewhat more troublesome to some of his euro zone partners (with his criticism of restrictive European Central Bank monetary policy). He also stressed EU complementarity to NATO , friendship with Israel, and a tough attitude toward Iranian nuclear weapons. In July 2007 Sarkozy drew worldwide attention for the prominent part he and his wife Cécilia played in gaining the release of six Bulgarian medics (charged with infecting children with HIV) who had been held in Libya since 1999. While applauding the release, some in France and the EU criticized Sarkozy’s high-profile involvement as well as his wife’s participation. Meanwhile, to the relief of many EU partners, Sarkozy agreed to put forward a revamped EU treaty for approval by the French parliament and not by referendum (as Chirac had tried and failed to do in 2005). His efforts in support of this agreement, the so-called Lisbon Treaty , were rewarded when the parliament ratified it in February 2008.

Sarkozy continued to play a vocal role in European affairs once France assumed the presidency of the EU, which rotates among member countries, that July. The same month, Sarkozy oversaw the launch of the Mediterranean Union, an international organization made up of Mediterranean rim countries in Europe , North Africa , and the Middle East . Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Although the French media had traditionally avoided close examination of the private lives of French leaders, Sarkozy’s personal problems were well known even before his presidency because of the publicity surrounding a temporary separation from Cécilia, his second wife. His divorce from her in October 2007 and his marriage to singer Carla Bruni in February 2008 drew increased media scrutiny. Many in France viewed the interest in Sarkozy’s private life as distasteful and inappropriate, and some accused Sarkozy himself of cultivating a flashy image to distract the public from negative aspects of his administration. David Buchan The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica Having fared poorly in French regional elections in March 2010, the UMP retained control of only 1 of 22 régions.

The results appeared to reflect French voters’ growing dissatisfaction with the president and his conservative party during a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. Domestic support for Sarkozy continued to erode throughout 2011, even as his profile rose internationally, because of his leadership role in the response to the European debt crisis . As the 2012 presidential campaign began in earnest, Sarkozy trailed Socialist challenger François Hollande in opinion polls and attempted to bolster his numbers with a return to the theme of immigration reform. On April 22, 2012, Sarkozy finished a close second to Hollande in the first round of presidential balloting, and the two faced each other again in a runoff two weeks later. On May 6, 2012, Hollande defeated Sarkozy, making Sarkozy only the second French president to fail in a reelection bid since the foundation of the Fifth Republic in 1958. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Although Sarkozy announced that the loss signaled his retirement from political life, it was widely believed that he was simply biding his time for an eventual return.

Sarkozy was considered a possible UMP candidate for the presidency in 2017, but his potential political ambitions were frustrated by a string of legal troubles related to the funding of his 2007 election campaign. In March 2013 he was investigated for improperly extracting donations from Liliane Bettencourt , the elderly, mentally frail heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics empire. Those proceedings were dropped in October 2013, but information obtained during that investigation, as well as a case involving some €50 million (almost $70 million) in illegal contributions from Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi , led to additional legal woes for Sarkozy and his inner circle. In July 2014 Sarkozy, his lawyer, and a French magistrate were formally charged with corruption. Investigators alleged that Sarkozy had promised the magistrate a plum position in Monaco in exchange for privileged information about charges pending against him. That investigation was suspended in September 2014, just days after Sarkozy announced his intention to seek the UMP presidency at the party congress in November 2014.

He won the leadership contest easily, but legal issues, including a new scandal involving alleged kickbacks from the sale of 45 helicopters to Kazakhstan, threatened to disrupt his political comeback. A strong showing by the UMP in regional elections in March 2015 enhanced Sarkozy’s position, and in May 2015 he led the effort to rebrand the UMP as the Republicans. In the first round of Republican presidential primary voting in November 2016, however, Sarkozy finished a distant third behind former prime ministers François Fillon and Alain Juppé. For the second time in four years, Sarkozy announced that he was withdrawing from politics. Chirac Endorses a Bitter Rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, for France's Presidency - The New York Sun Chirac Endorses a Bitter Rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, for France's Presidency By HENRY SAMUEL, | March 22, 2007 PARIS ï¿½ President Chirac yesterday gave his official blessing to the center-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy to succeed him as president of France. In a televised statement, Mr.

Chirac said he would give his "vote and support" to the 52-year-old Mr. Sarkozy, who is the interior minister as well as the head of the governing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) ï¿½ the party created by Mr. Chirac. The outgoing president also said Mr. Sarkozy would leave his government post on March 26 to focus full-time on the election, which is to be held over two rounds in April and May. But after months of stalling over giving his blessing, the president's support for Mr. Sarkozy was measured. The two men have been bitter rivals for years and disagree on many domestic issues. Mr. Chirac said: "As for my personal choices, things are simple. I wanted to create the UMP to allow France to conduct enduring rigorous politics of modernization. "In its diversity, this political grouping chose to support the candidacy of Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidential election, and this is due to his qualities. It is thus completely natural that I give him my vote and my support." The two had a tï¿½te-ï¿½-tï¿½te yesterday morning before a Cabinet meeting. Afterward, Mr.

Sarkozy said: "I am very touched by this decision. It is important to me on a political level, but also on a personal level." Mr. Chirac's support could help Mr. Sarkozy win back center-right voters worried by the UMP candidate's more liberal tendencies and tempted by a rising centrist candidate, Francois Bayrou. However, it puts into question his pledge to make a "rupture" with the Chirac style of politics ï¿½ a point that his electoral opponents will definitely seek to exploit. Segolene Royal, the Socialist Party candidate, said Mr. Chirac's announcement was proof that "Nicolas Sarkozy is the outgoing candidate of the outgoing majority. [His candidacy] is the continuation of the politics of the right." The Socialist Party has also accused Mr. Sarkozy of using the Interior Ministry to spy on rival candidates and their campaign teams. He, in turn, has dismissed the allegations, saying only that he would step down before the start of the campaign on April 9. Mr. Chirac had kept up the suspense over whom he would back, declining to give an opinion 10 days ago, when he announced that he would not run for a third term.

In a sign that he intends to continue influencing the electoral debate, he has cautioned candidates against overtly liberal policies or attacking the French social model, which Mr. Sarkozy recently described as "defunct." In the preface to his forthcoming memoirs, leaked to Le Monde yesterday, Mr. Chirac also attacks Mr. Sarkozy's plan to introduce affirmative action as "pernicious" and reiterates his call for Turkish entry into the European Union ï¿½ which Mr. Sarkozy opposes. Mr. Sarkozy recently confessed that the two men did not see eye-to-eye on everything. He pointedly added: "I want to be a candidate that clearly tells the French what he will do if they trust me. That's my specificity. So I am different" from Mr. Chirac. receive the latest by email: subscribe to the new york sun's free mailing list FRANCE Nicolas Sarkozy is new President of France FRANCE Nicolas Sarkozy is new President of France He beat the Socialist candidate at the polls with his liberal and European programme. Congratulations have poured in from Blair, Bush and Hariri. Paris (AsiaNews) – Fifty-two-year-old Nicolas Sarkozy is the new president of France.

He won yesterday’s ballot with 53% of the votes, beating his Socialist contender Segolene Royal, who did not even get 47%. Addressing tens of thousands of supporters in the Place de la Concorde, the neo-president said: “I will not betray you, I will not lie to you, I will not disappoint you.” And to those who did not vote for him, he also promised to be “president of all the French”. Sarkozy will succeed François Chirac on 16 May and has pledged to act swiftly to implement his electoral programme. His campaign was based on the theme of making a “clean break” from previous French policies that have saddled the country with a huge debt, high levels of unemployment and very strong discontent in the suburbs. In his message yesterday, he reiterated that France needed change; work needed to be valued, efforts awarded and authority reinforced. His electoral pledges include tax cuts and reducing the bureaucratic structure, a law guaranteeing minimum service in transport strikes and rules that oblige unemployed to take up work offered them so as not to be a burden on public relief.

On the social front, he has promised to put in place strict rules to make it harder for immigrants to bring over their extended families to France. His programme, based on merit, commitment and authority, stands in stark contrast to the welfare-oriented image put forward by Royal, who proposed enhancing state protection and increasing the minimum wage. The British Premier, Tony Blair, the US President, George W. Bush and Saad Hariri of Lebanon were among the first to offer their congratulations to the new president. On foreign policy, Sarkozy has pledged to make France once again “the land of human rights”, breaking away from the pragmatic style that prompted Paris to court – in the name of economy and wellbeing – dictatorships and authoritarian states in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. On this line, and in defence of a European identity tied to Christian roots, Sarkozy has expressed himself many times against the entry of Turkey in the European Union. Congress Warms to France’s New President - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |Congress Warms to France’s New President Search Continue reading the main story WASHINGTON, Nov.

7 — The United States Congress welcomed Nicolas Sarkozy , the French president, with loud cheers and standing ovations on Wednesday, a sign that France had been forgiven for opposing the American-led war in Iraq. In a speech to a joint meeting of Congress — a rare honor for a head of state — Mr. Sarkozy seemed to strike all the right notes. He spoke of his love of the American dream and cultural icons of the 20th century, from Elvis Presley to Ernest Hemingway. He expressed admiration for American values and for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He thanked the United States for saving France in two world wars, rebuilding Europe with the Marshall Plan and fighting Communism during the cold war. When he called France “the friend of the United States of America,” the hall, packed with lawmakers, many of whom held France in disdain only a few years ago, burst into applause. When he said that a nuclear-armed Iran was “unacceptable,” they stood and applauded. President Bush also showered his French counterpart with praise at a joint news conference following a tour and lunch at Mount Vernon, the Virginia home of George Washington.

“It’s safe to say that you’ve impressed a lot of people here on your journey,” Mr. Bush said, calling Mr. Sarkozy “the kind of fellow I like to deal with.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The two presidents expressed their shared views on the need to curb Iran’s nuclear program and fight terrorism, and played down their differences on issues like the war in Iraq. “We had a difference of opinion,” Mr. Bush said. “But I don’t sense any difference of opinion now that a struggling democracy wants help from those of us who live in the comfort of free societies.” Mr. Sarkozy responded cautiously, saying that what France wanted was a democratic, diverse and stable Iraq, able to govern and protect itself. Mr. Bush even praised Mr. Sarkozy’s effort to break a political deadlock over coming elections in Lebanon by holding direct talks with Syria. While the Bush administration has isolated Syria, two senior French officials met last weekend in Damascus with Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, to warn him not to interfere in the elections. “I have a partner in peace, somebody who has clear vision, basic values, who is willing to take tough positions to achieve peace,” Mr. Bush said.

“And so when you ask, am I comfortable with the Sarkozy government sending messages, you bet I’m comfortable.” The tight embrace of Mr. Sarkozy is remarkable given that he consistently has stated that France was right to oppose the war in Iraq. Like his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, he has refused to help the United States on the ground in Iraq. But while Mr. Sarkozy did not mention the Iraq war in his speech, he expressed sympathy for American soldiers fighting and dying around the world, saying it reminded him of American soldiers’ sacrifices for France. “Every time, whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American Army did for France,” Mr. Sarkozy said as his audience applauded. “I think of them and I am sad, as one is saddened to lose a member of one’s family.” Anti-French feelings were so fierce in Congress after France refused to join the Iraq war effort in 2003 that the word “French” was stricken from the menus of the House of Representatives’ cafeterias. “Freedom fries” and “Freedom toast” were introduced. There were initiatives to boycott any product made in France. Advertisement Continue reading the main story That angry mood is gone.

“President Sarkozy has hit a home run out of the ballpark,” said Representative Tom Lantos, the California Democrat who is chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “I expect a spectacular renaissance in French-American relations.” Mr. Lantos added that France was proven right in its refusal to back the war in Iraq. “In view of everything we know now — the flawed intelligence, the miserable execution of the post-military phase — the French certainly were right,” Mr. Lantos said. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said of Mr. Sarkozy’s performance: “You just heard a Ronald Reagan speech from a president of France. It was an almost out-of-body experience for all of us.” The Capitol Hill welcome for Mr. Sarkozy sharply contrasted with that for his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, when he addressed Congress on his first state visit to Washington as president in 1996. Many members of Congress boycotted Mr. Chirac’s speech to protest France’s recent nuclear tests in the South Pacific; only about 100 attended. Mr.

Sarkozy managed to draw applause even after he chided the Bush administration for not taking a leadership role on climate change and warned about the risks of the dollar’s sharp decline. In his speech and the news conference with Mr. Bush, Mr. Sarkozy pledged to be a strong partner with the United States against terrorism and to keep French troops in Afghanistan as long as needed in the NATO-led mission to bring stability. Carl Hulse and Brian Knowlton contributed reporting. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Congress Warms to France’s New President. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Nicolas Sarkozy Biography, Photos & Rise To Success - AskMen AskMen Messages You have no messages Notifications You have no notifications Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy is the current French president and co-prince of Andorra. He's also served as a high-profile minister and as a mayor. Appeal Nicolas Sarkozy's title as President of France no doubt brings with it a hefty degree of status and appeal for the ladies. It wasn't always like this.

As a child, he had an estranged relationship with his father and suffered from low self-esteem because of his short height and relatively poor upbringing. Through his rise to the top of France's political pyramid, Nicolas Sarkozy has had a number of high-profile marriages, first to Marie-Dominique Culioli, then to Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz and, most recently, to ex-model and singer Carla Bruni . While none of these marriages have lasted for more than 14 years (although his marriage to Carla Bruni might), Nicolas Sarkozy hasn't lost his appeal to the opposite sex. With such a high place in French society, Nicolas Sarkozy takes pride in his appearance and was awarded a No. 68 ranking on Vanity Fair’s 2007 list of best-dressed people . Success It's only been a year and change since Nicolas Sarkozy's appointment as President of France, but he's already made his presence known through initiatives affecting global warming, the balance between president and parliament, and tax and overtime laws for French workers.

No stranger to important political decisions, Nicolas Sarkozy also worked as the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Finance in previous French governments, and was the long-time mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Nicolas Sarkozy's outspoken ways have attracted controversy in the past, sometimes gaining him international allies and foes in the same breath. Although he shared former President Jean Chirac's stance against the Iraq War, he disliked the government's handling of the situation and behavior toward the United States. Nicolas Sarkozy also stirred the political pot by using the media to speak out directly against alleged perpetrators during the prosecution of high-profile criminal cases. Nicolas Sarkozy Biography Nicolas Sarkozy was born on January 28, 1955, in Paris, France. The early separation of his parents left him to be raised mostly by his mother, who lived with him and his brothers in the upper-class Paris neighborhood of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Nicolas Sarkozy had a difficult time fitting in, later saying that "the humiliations suffered during childhood" were instrumental in defining him. Early on, Nicolas Sarkozy was only an average student.

He failed his first year of junior high at Lycée Chaptal and transferred to the private Cours Saint-Louis de Monceau, where his grades improved enough for him to enter the Université Paris X Nanterre. Once there, he pursued law with an emphasis on family and business, and subsequently completed the bar exam. Although he wasn't a flashy student at this time, Nicolas Sarkozy started to sow the seeds for a political future, joining student groups that leaned toward the right. nicolas sarkozy enters politics, is youngest mayor In 1977, Nicolas Sarkozy joined the Neuilly-sur-Seine political spectrum as a councillor, representing the RPR party. Because his mother worked for mayor Achille Peretti, Nicolas Sarkozy became friendly with him and, when Peretti passed away suddenly in 1983, Nicolas Sarkozy started a campaign to replace him. His subsequent victory made Nicolas Sarkozy the youngest mayor in a French town of more than 50,000 people. He would hold the post until 2002, with one of his most important moments being a 1993 hostage crisis that had him talking directly to a school gunman who was subsequently killed.

During his tenure as mayor, Nicolas Sarkozy also entered federal politics, starting as a cabinet spokesman and Minister of the Budget in 1993, then becoming a Minister of Finance in 2004, and later a Minister of the Interior in 2005. Some of his key moves in these positions involved implementing an increased police force and greater road-safety measures. At the same time, his supporters and even his critics felt he had his eye on the presidential office. nicolas sarkozy becomes president of france In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy campaigned for the French presidency with the support of outgoing president, Jacques Chirac. A competitive campaign ensued between Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist opponent, Ségolène Royal. In the April election, Nicolas Sarkozy won both electoral rounds and gave a rousing speech that emphasized moving into the future and working under a unified front. Since taking office, Nicolas Sarkozy has moved forward with his plans to take France in a new direction. He circled 2050 as the year when French CO2 emissions will drop by 50% and made overtime hours tax-free for employees. He has also vowed to limit presidential terms to two and give parliament greater veto power.

If there's any doubt about Nicolas Sarkozy's international power and recognition, pay close attention to the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace. The villainous Dominic Greene (played by Mathieu Amalric ) is partially based on him. Profile: Nicolas Sarkozy - BBC News BBC News Image copyright AFP Image caption Nicolas Sarkozy was France's president from 2007-2012 Nicolas Sarkozy has announced he wants to run for the French presidency again, despite ongoing corruption investigations - and the challenge he faces from two former prime ministers hoping to gain the Republican party nomination. Mr Sarkozy, 61, became France's first president not to be re-elected for a second term since Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981. But now the man who beat him, Socialist leader Francois Hollande, is the most unpopular French president in modern times, opinion polls suggest. Depicting France as on the "edge of an abyss", Mr Sarkozy has said he cannot allow himself to leave his country "between the drama of the FN (far-right National Front) and the end of Socialism".

Mr Sarkozy secured the leadership of his party in a party poll in November 2014, but fell short of the 70% of the vote that he had hoped would give him a launch pad to challenge for the presidency in 2017. In 2015 he changed the party's name from Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) to The Republicans. He continues to be dogged by inquiries that have their roots in the funding of his successful 2007 election campaign. Tied in legal knots Mr Sarkozy is formally the target of a judicial investigation that might well end in a trial in two separate cases. An anti-corruption team in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris, placed him under formal investigation in 2014 on suspicion of trying to influence senior judges. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Temporary detention by police in July was a new low point for Mr Sarkozy His 15-hour stay in policy custody on 1 July 2014 was unprecedented for an ex-president in France. His supporters openly accuse his political opponents of trying to sabotage his return to the political mainstream.

The allegation is that he tried to obtain details from a magistrate about legal proceedings against him in 2013, when his campaign finances came under suspicion. The investigation could lead to a charge of influence-peddling. Mr Sarkozy is suspected of having promised a prestigious role in Monaco to a magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, in exchange for information. Mr Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog and Mr Azibert were also placed under formal investigation. And a case called Bygmalion could also damage Mr Sarkozy's chances of a comeback. The UMP is suspected of having fraudulently covered up illegal campaign funding in 2012. In February 2016 Mr Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation in this case too. In 2013 Mr Sarkozy was also charged with taking advantage of the frail, elderly L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. She was allegedly persuaded to donate big sums to the UMP. The case against him was later dropped . Another inquiry concerns allegations that Mr Sarkozy received campaign funding from the late Libyan strongman Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Republicans party presidential primaries are scheduled for 2016 and Mr Sarkozy is likely to face tough rivals - former Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his own former Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. Celebrity lifestyle Mr Sarkozy kept a low profile after his defeat by Mr Hollande in the 2012 election. He appeared to rule out any return to frontline politics, devoting himself instead to family life and lucrative appearances on the international conference circuit. Critics nicknamed his presidency "bling-bling", seeing his leadership style as too brash, celebrity-driven and hyperactive for a role steeped in tradition and grandeur. That celebrity image was reinforced by his marriage to supermodel and singer Carla Bruni in 2008. The couple had a daughter, Giulia, a few months before the 2012 election. Mr Sarkozy, who is twice divorced, also has a son from his second marriage and two sons from his first marriage.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption His relationship with Carla Bruni became the main media focus after he took power Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Sarkozy is a keen jogger - here pictured in a Paris street Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In 2005 violence gripped the Paris suburbs and several other cities while Mr Sarkozy was interior minister Tough on immigration A veteran conservative politician, Mr Sarkozy angered human rights activists with his stance on immigration. As interior minister he notoriously talked of hosing down troubled housing estates, describing young delinquents in the Paris suburbs as racaille, or rabble. That blunt comment - made before the 2005 riots - encouraged some critics to put him in the same category as the then far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Later as president he pushed through measures to curb illegal immigration - including highly controversial mass deportations of Roma (Gypsies). At the same time, he advocated positive discrimination to help reduce youth unemployment - a challenge to those wedded to the French idea of equality. Towards the end of his presidency, unemployment claims surged to their highest level in 12 years.

Yet he had been at the forefront of the European response to the global economic crisis in 2008 and helped establish the G20 summits involving the world's biggest economies. He also saw through unpopular, but arguably necessary, reforms: raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 , relaxing the 35-hour working week , overhauling the universities and altering the tax system to encourage overtime and home ownership. Political fighter On the international stage, Mr Sarkozy was often described as an Atlanticist, though he opposed the war in Iraq. He was credited with brokering an end to the August 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia , and his performance while holding the six-month EU rotating presidency is remembered as assertive. In response to the global financial crisis of 2008 , he vowed to punish speculators and advocated a strong state role in the economy. Leading the European Union response, he developed a close working relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Since Mr Sarkozy's fall from power, Carla Bruni's career as a singer has continued Immigrant roots Unlike most of the French ruling class, Mr Sarkozy did not go to the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, but trained as a lawyer. The son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother of Greek-Jewish origin, he was baptised a Roman Catholic and grew up in Paris. He began his political career as mayor of the affluent Paris suburb of Neuilly from 1983 to 2002. National attention came in 1993, when he personally intervened to free infants held hostage by a deranged man in a kindergarten, who was later killed by police commandos. Initially a protege of Jacques Chirac , he became the right-hand man of Prime Minister Edouard Balladur in 1993-95, serving as budget minister. When he backed Mr Balladur for the presidency in 1995, the decision caused a lasting rift with Mr Chirac, the successful candidate.

Mr Chirac famously chided him in his memoirs for being "irritable, rash, overconfident and allowing for no doubt, least of all regarding himself". Sarkozy, elected in France, vows break with past - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |Sarkozy, elected in France, vows break with past Search Continue reading the main story PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the passionate, pugnacious son of a Hungarian immigrant, was elected president of France on Sunday, promising a break with the past, a new style of leadership, and a renewal of relations with the United States and the rest of Europe. Sarkozy's triumph over Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate, was a huge blow to her party and dashed her dream of becoming the country's first female president. But Royal tried to rally her supporters, telling them French politics had forever changed with her candidacy. With the entire vote counted, Sarkozy had 53.1 percent and Royal 46.9 percent, according to official Interior Ministry figures. Royal had repeatedly appealed to the women of France to vote for her in a show of female solidarity.

But Sarkozy, a conservative who made his reputation as a hard-line minister of the interior, got the majority of the women's vote, according to Ipsos, an international polling company. Its telephone poll showed the youngest voters supported Royal, artisans, shopkeepers and rural voters preferred Sarkozy, and city dwellers were divided. Sarkozy's strongest support came from voters 60 years and older. Advertisement Continue reading the main story His victory set off scattered anti-Sarkozy violence in Paris and some other cities, but for the most part France stayed calm. Turnout was exceptionally high. Eighty-four percent of France's 44.5 million registered voters cast ballots, about four percentage points higher than the level five years ago. In an emotional acceptance speech to thousands of cheering supporters in a rented concert hall in the chic Eighth Arrondissement, Sarkozy (pronounced SAR-ko-zee) renewed his campaign pledge to break what he called the old, outmoded habits of France. "The French people have chosen change," Sarkozy declared. "I will implement that change.

Because that is the mandate I received and because France needs change." He vowed to "break with the ideas, the habits and the behavior of the past" and to "rehabilitate work, authority, morality, respect and merit." Sarkozy has pledged to remake France by, among other things, slashing unemployment, cutting taxes, keeping trains running during strikes, making people work harder and longer, shrinking the government bureaucracy, reforming pension rules and making it easier to create new businesses. Widely criticized in France for his strong pro-American sentiments, Sarkozy sought in his acceptance speech to strike a balanced approach to the United States. Addressing France's "American friends," he said, "I want to tell them that France will always be by their side when they need her, but that friendship is also accepting the fact that friends can think differently." . He specifically criticized the United States for obstructing the fight against global warming, which he said would be a high priority. Advertisement Continue reading the main story President George W. Bush telephoned Sarkozy to congratulate him, saying he "looks forward to working with president-elect Sarkozy as we continue our strong alliance," Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said in a statement.

Foreshadowing activism in the world, Sarkozy called for a new union of the Mediterranean region, vowed to fight poverty, tyranny and oppression, and forge a new role for the European Union, declaring, "Tonight, France is back in Europe." He also struck a conciliatory note, reaching out to the huge swath of French people who seem to fear him, especially in the country's ethnically and racially mixed suburbs, where he is accused of fueling tensions with his provocative language and an aggressive police presence. "To all those French who did not vote for me, I want to say, beyond political battles, beyond differences of opinion, for me there is only one France," Sarkozy said. "I want to tell them that I will be president of all the French." In conceding defeat at her campaign headquarters on the Left Bank, Royal acknowledged the sadness and pain of her supporters, whom she thanked for their efforts. "The voters have spoken," Royal said.

"I hope the next president will fulfill his mission in the service of all the French people." But she also said the election campaign had changed the French left forever, hinting at disarray in her party and suggesting the Socialists may seek to form an alliance with the large following of François Bayrou, the centrist candidate. "Something rose up that will not stop," she said, adding, "You can count on me to deepen the renewal of the left." She never mentioned Sarkozy by name. With his raw, often divisive rhetoric, Sarkozy will have to change course to neutralize deep-rooted hostility against him, particularly in the tough ethnic suburbs. Advertisement Continue reading the main story About 2,000 people gathered at Place de la Bastille in central Paris to await the election results, with some burning an effigy of Sarkozy before tearing it apart. But within two hours of the polls closing, the scene had degenerated into violent clashes between the police and several hundred people in the crowd who smashed windows and set one vehicle on fire. By midnight, the square was shrouded in tear gas, with riot police officers cowering from paving stones pitched by young men. Bursts of police water cannons followed.

"Police everywhere, justice nowhere!" some protesters shouted. Others yelled, "Sarko, Fascist! The people will get you!" The base of the Bastille column in the square was left scrawled with graffiti, including, "Sarko 2007 = Hitler 1933." Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy Four policemen and one civilian were injured, the police said. In Lyon, France's second-largest city, the police used tear gas on anti-Sarkozy protesters in the main square. There were other isolated episodes of protest in cities and towns across the country, including Grenoble, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Metz and Marseille. Nonetheless, there was no repetition of the orgy of unrest that gripped the country's troubled multiracial and multiethnic suburbs in late 2005. Meanwhile, Sarkozy celebrated. After his acceptance speech, he blew kisses to the crowd before heading toward a restaurant on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, who has been notably absent during most of the campaign, was not with him throughout the day. He was accompanied to his acceptance speech by his two sons from a first marriage and his two adult stepdaughters. Mrs. Sarkozy joined her husband at the restaurant and accompanied him to an outdoor victory party at the Place de la Concorde. Advertisement Continue reading the main story There, 30,000 supporters filled the square where revolutionaries once guillotined monarchists, chanting, "Nicolas! Nicolas! Nicolas!" Sarkozy gave another upbeat speech. He clapped as Faudel, a French singer of Algerian origin, performed. Everyone sang the Marseillaise. "I am very happy because he is the only one who can save France," said Michele Mault, who is 50 years old and unemployed. "Sarkozy gives hope to someone like me who has no job, and especially to my children." The election was a triumph of raw ambition, efficiency and political sleight-of-hand. The French president is an odd invention — part monarch and part elected politician. There is no other elected political office in Europe that comes with as much power and grandeur.

Throughout the campaign, Sarkozy had portrayed himself as an outsider, an immigrant's son with a foreign-sounding name, a man who never went to one of France's elite universities. He is also the quintessential political insider, however, a longtime figure in party politics and a member of the cabinet of President Jacques Chirac for much of the past five years. But he succeeded in making himself look like a political outsider, distancing himself from Chirac, who was seen by the French as old, tired and powerless in the twilight of his 12-year presidency. Sarkozy ran an extraordinarily disciplined campaign with a single message: change, but not too much to scare voters. Royal's direct grass-roots appeal to the French people and her pledge to be their "protector" was revolutionary. But Royal, a former schools and environment minister, found herself in the odd position of being the candidate of her Socialist Party without enjoying the support of its elite. Her campaign was fraught with mixed messages, defections and shifting strategies. She never seemed to convince voters that she had enough substance.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Twenty-two years younger than Chirac, Sarkozy also represents a generational change in French politics, in which World War II and the cold war are not determining factors. Supporters of the centrist candidate, Bayrou, who came in third place in the first round with nearly seven million votes, split their vote almost evenly between Sarkozy, with 40 percent, and Royal, with 38 percent, according to Ipsos. Sarkozy received 63 percent of the vote of those who supported far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round, according to Ipsos. Even though he had urged his supporters to abstain, only 20 percent did so; 15 percent voted for Royal, and five percent cast a blank or defaced vote. In the most surprising development. 52 percent of female voters cast their ballots for Sarkozy, compared with 48 percent for Royal. Sarkozy captured the vote of people 60 years and older; Royal fared well with very young voters ­ the 18 to 24 year old age group, where she won 58 percent of the vote.

But Sarkozy gained the upper hand in the next age group, those aged 25 to 34, where he received 57 percent of the vote. Artisans and shopkeepers also chose Sarkozy with 82 percent of the vote. Farmers, who traditionally vote on the right, gave him 67 percent. Royal did better among blue-collar workers, with 54 percent of the vote. The data was taken from a poll carried out by phone on Sunday on a sample of 3609 people, representative of French registered voters. Sarkozy officially will assume office ten days from now, a few hours before Chirac's mandate ends. In a formal meeting, Chirac will hand over the secret codes for France's nuclear weapons. Advertisement Continue reading the main story There will be a 21-gun salute; the Marseillaise will be played. The President of the Constitutional Council will read the results of the election. The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor will make Sarkozy Grand Master of the Order. A version of this article appears in print on May 7, 2007, in The International Herald Tribune. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

Question: Whom did Nicolas Sarkozy succeed as President of France in 2007?
Answer: JACQUES CHIRAC